FQEB was a five-year program established 2009 in commemoration of the Darwin “Double Anniversary” Year (marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species).

The “Foundational Questions in Evolutionary Biology” initiative at Harvard University sought to substantially advance fundamental questions in the context of evolutionary biology. The goal of FQEB was to generate new kinds of knowledge and understanding in core areas of biology where there have been severe “missing knowledge problems”, such as in the origins of biological creativity, the deep logics of biological dynamics and biological ontology, and understandings of teleology and concepts of ultimate purpose in the context of evolution. These specific kinds of knowledge are directly relevant to a wide range of philosophical and theological discussions and debates. FQEB was led by Martin Nowak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University.